Seven Devils
by thejokettee
Summary: In which Steve and Bucky weren't the only ones to walk away from the 40s as something more than human. In a new day and age two unlikely friends find themselves trying to build a new life together and move on from the past. Everything finally seems that it is as it should be until a familiar face from their past comes back into their lives bent on destroying everything that they
1. Chapter 1

Jackie felt out of place. She couldn't remember the last time she had been in a restaurant simply for pleasure, and she had even gone so far as to wear a dress. With dark eye makeup on and her hair left in loose waves she felt like she had gotten too dressed up just to be having dinner with Steve, but he had asked her to, and while it was her birthday she thought it wouldn't be too much trouble to do him the small favor. Now that she had actually slipped into that the black dress and stepped into her heels she was beginning to rethink her decision.

Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear Jackie sipped on the wine the waiter had brought her while she waited for Steve to join her. He had insisted on picking her up at her apartment formally but she'd brushed him off, insisting that if she were going to dress up that she would like to find her own way to the restaurant. The blonde had reluctantly agreed. Jackie had purposefully arrived early so she would be able to slip outside and light a smoke to calm her nerves at the idea of going on a date with someone who had seen her at her absolute worst, but neither of them were calling it a date. All he had said was that he wanted to take her out for her birthday, and considering she hadn't been there to spend his last one with him she agreed on the condition that it was her way of making up for it.

She considered getting up and going back outside to smoke, but when she checked her cellphone and saw that it was going on seven, she decided against it. Steve liked being late just about as much as she enjoyed staring at the color yellow, and she felt it would somehow be rude if she met him outside only for him to greet her in a cloud of smoke. Shaking her head lightly Jackie lifted her hand to touch her locket, her hands sticking out sorely due to the gloves she wore.

Before she could dwell on the thought, a figure stepped into her line of vision before taking a seat across from her.

"I didn't expect you to dress up, Rogers." she drew while giving him a once-over. Steve dressed as if they were still living in the 40s and while he was slowly modernizing himself there was always a certain air about him that reminded her of the time and place they had come from. Even so she hadn't expected him to show up in a tux and freshly shined shoes.

Steve smoothed a hand down over his front as he lowered himself into his seat. A moment later a waiter brought him a glass of wine similar to that of the blue-eyed dame across from him but he took a sip of his water instead. They had agreed on not calling it a 'date' although to an outsider that's exactly what it was, and despite that he could tell that Jackie was nervous. He saw it in the way she rubbed at her hands as if she wanted nothing more than to light a smoke right then and there but she was putting on a brave face for him like she always did. Arching a blonde eyebrow he offered her a smile to try and ease the mood. "You know me. I don't think I would come to a place like this without dressing up." (Any place you had to make a reservation for equated to dressing up in the soldier's mind.)

She nodded while looking down at her menu. Even before she had never liked going to places that were so fancy. Small cafés with quirky atmospheres or rundown diners were more of her go-to outing if she was looking for a bite to eat. Her lips fell slightly as she looked over the options and while she wouldn't admit it, she wasn't quite sure as to what half of the meals listed were. _Fuck_ , she though while turning the page, _who spends that much money for a meal that's less than half the size of the damn plate?_

Her actions didn't go unnoticed by the tall male who had been sneaking glances at her over the top of his menu. Jackie looked very nice, but it wasn't surprising. She had a dark beauty about her. Steve's cheeks flushed at the thought because even after all this time he still wasn't sure what to do with himself around women and to distract himself from the thought he suddenly blurted: "Don't worry about how much it costs. Just try to enjoy yourself." which was easier said than done. For him it was the struggle of accepting the fact that he was torn out of his time and thrown into one he didn't understand, whereas for her she had been awake all that time. Whatever Hydra had done to her was something that had changed her drastically from the woman he once knew - things she still refused to tell him - and everything since then only continued to damage her. It was rare that he saw her genuinely enjoy herself.

Jackie opened her mouth to speak but closed it again when the waiter approached them. "What can I get for you?" he asked with his body angled in Jackie's direction. He looked like a college student with shaggy black hair and warm brown eyes that were as young as what he appeared to be. For a split moment she couldn't' help but to envy him.

Falling into the routine of functioning as a normal human being she looked at him with relaxed shoulders and an inviting face. "Could I get the pasta with extra sauce?" she asked softly. Generally she was someone who was thought of as a bitch with her cold exterior, crude and sarcastic comments, and what seemed to be a complete lack of empathy. Nevertheless she was always nice to person who brought her food if she hadn't been watching them creepily.

He nodded while he scribbled down her order and turned to Steve. The blonde took a moment before closing his menu and taking up Jackie's from where she had sat it on the edge of the table. "I'll have the prime rib sandwich with a loaded baked potato." he said while handing the menus to the waiter who stuck them under his arm before tuning his attention back to his small notepad.

"How would you liked that cooked?"

"Medium rare."

The waiter turned on his heels and headed in the direction of the kitchen, leaving Jackie and Steve to their own devices once again. Folding her arms on the top of the table the former nurse leaned forward slightly with a smug smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "I agreed to come to dinner with you, Stevie. I wore a dress and a pair of heels that I think I might die in, what else am I forgetting? _Oh._ I nearly choked myself with perfume before coming back inside so I wouldn't smell like smoke." she went on lowly. While she normally spoke to everyone with the same indifferent demeanor or was a much less cocky but just as mouthy version of Tony Stark, she felt bad for talking to Steve that. They had each lost so much and having one another was bittersweet. They were a constant reminder to one another of all they had lost but in a day and age that they no longer belonged in, they had one another to lean on and help get through.

Clearing her throat slightly, Jackie leaned back and her smug smile become softer, if not somehow sad. "I'm glad we're doing this. I think it's time to move on."


	2. Chapter 2

Jackie's comment about it being time to move on had more weight to it than either of the two thought possible. When she had said it Steve looked at her with sad eyes that were hopeful, and she had _nearly_ responded by looking away. She managed to refrain from doing so and went to touch his hand lightly where it laid on the table but the kind gesture failed in lifting the sudden weight that fell upon their shoulders. The pair ate their meals in silence and it wasn't until their waiter returned to clear their plates away and refill the wine glasses the two had barely touched did one of them finally break the silence.

"So, uh," Steve began somewhat nervously. Conversation with Jackie was always flowed easily because he had more in common with her than he did anyone else... at least that had been the case since they stumbled upon one another at the Battle of New York. (The blonde never spoke of knowing her to anyone on the team and hadn't because her memory ultimately reminded him of Bucky. It reminded him that if he had known what he did now back then and had been able to prevent his best pal from falling from the train the two of them could have had a fulfilling life together. They _should_ have had a life together outside of the war. Not to mention the fact that there was no reason for him to think that she was still alive after all this time. Once he asked her why she didn't seek him out and she had responded by telling him: _Being around you brings everything rushing back._ ) "You've been spending more time around the Tower?" he finally managed to continue after what felt like an embarrassingly long pause of silence.

The only thing on her mind before Steve spoke was how much she needed a cigarette. Due to her DNA being morphed with that of energy from the Tesseract it repaired her body at astonishing rates. She could smoke thirty cigarettes a day without it doing any permanent damage to her lungs and often did, and while she had self control and could go for long periods of time without lighting a smoke she simply preferred not to. His familiar voice withdrew her from her cigarette daydreams and she blinked twice before a smirk formed on her thin lips while she leaned forward slightly, her locket swaying slightly as it fell free of her dress. "I mean I _do_ live there. Making sure Tony doesn't royally fuck up keeps me pretty busy so I tend to linger around there, you know? Occasionally I get a change of scenery when Fury calls on me as his personal lackey and sends me to do his dirty work for him." her tone of voice was incredibly sarcastic, but there was a truth behind her words that Steve didn't pick up on. Sometimes Jackie genuinely felt sorry for him and the way he always sought out the best in people. He was too naïve for his own good.

"I've known you for how long now? More than seventy years." the edge to her tone was gone but the expression on her face made up for it. "You aren't much of one for small talk and we both know it. What's on your mind?" Jackie loved Steve to pieces. She would lay down her life for him and do anything that he asked her within reason, and why she still struggled with showing him how much he meant to her with both her words and actions she did her best to be there for him... even if it was loaded with snark.

Steve pressed his lips thinly together. A lot about her had changed from the way she carried herself as a nurse in WW2 to the deadly mercenary turned Avenger that she was today. Before she rarely cursed and took the feelings of others into consideration. Jackie was compassionate and had been strong in a way he hadn't seen someone be before - a way where she didn't draw from physical strength. Emotionally she was grounded and had the will and determination that no one had been able to match until this very day. He had seen her walk out of a medical tent covered in blood without letting it crawl underneath her skin, and he had been in the room where she held the hand of a soldier for two hours while he was on his death bed because he didn't want to go out alone. There were times when he asked himself if the woman he knew now was the same one he had known then but it was the little things that reminded him that she was still there. Even after years of destruction not even the most basic points in her personality could be stripped away.

Clearing his throat softly he stuck his hand into his pocket, his fingertips brushing against smooth metal. The two of them always acknowledged the others birthday in one way or another but this year was different from all the rest and Steve wanted to do something extra special for her. It was a risk, he knew, but he hadn't been able to think of something he could do for her or give her that was more sentimental and genuine than what he had finally decided on. Finally he wrapped his hand around the small object and withdrew it so he was able to lay it on the table and gently push it towards her. He watched carefully as she took it into her own hands and ran the tip of her finger along the cover that had been engraved with delicate designs similar to the ones that had once been on the one she currently wore. When she opened the locket her pale eyes softened and the only word he was able to find that described how she looked to him in that moment was _vulnerable_.

Jackie had been ready to fire off another comment when Steve reached into his pocket and laid something on the table before pushing it towards her. A lump formed in her throat as she looked over the locket. It was almost identical to the one she wore, the same one that Jonathan, her older brother, had given to her before going to fight in the war. It was the one thing she _willing_ carried with her throughout the years and due to the time it had done and the battles it had seen with her the cover was scratched to the point it no longer resembled the elegant piece of jewelry it had once been. She opened it without looking up at Steve with her shoulders tense because she knew what he was trying to say. Getting a new locket was a way to let go of the things she couldn't change but it went deeper than that, she knew. He wasn't expecting her to let go of her brother or telling her that she had to, but it was a quiet way of telling her to let go of the bad memories the locket held and keep the good ones. Her lips came together at the picture it held inside. It was one of her and Steve looking at one another with smiles on either of their faces, the kind that were genuine and didn't reflect the heartache they felt. Jackie could tell it had been taken in the Avengers Tower but she wasn't sure who took the photo or how it had came into Steve's possession.

"Tony made the locket," Steve hesitantly said after a long moment of silence. Loosening the collar of his dress shirt slightly he suddenly felt very warm as if he were embarrassed but he pushed past it. "I told him what I wanted to do and he managed to find a picture of your locket. Well, not _your_ locket, but the line of ones that look similar to it." at that point he felt like he was rambling somewhat uselessly so decided to wrap it up with: "The picture is compliments of Natasha. She left the other side empty for, you know..." he trailed off. The pictures inside of the locket she wore was one of her late brother in uniform which he was sure that she would put in the new locket if she decided to wear it. In the opposite half was a somewhat blurry photograph of Bucky. The super soldier felt somewhat sick to his stomach because she would have to choose between which picture she wanted to put inside, and ultimately she could take the photo of the two of them out to make room for both Buck and her brother.

"It's beautiful, Stevie. I love it," Jackie found her voice although it was soft and somewhat unsure. Laying the locket down she reached up behind her and slipped her old locket off, the metal warm from where it had been in contact with her skin. Opening it carefully she removed the picture of Jonathan and put it into the new locket finding that it was a perfect fit. For a moment she stared at the picture of Bucky before looking to the one of her and Steve and finally shut her old locket, leaving the photograph. It was time for her to move on and let him go and keeping his memory so close to her wasn't going to help her do that. A small smile formed on her lips as she held up the new locket. "Do you want the honors?"

Steve was somewhat surprised when Jackie left the picture of Bucky in her old locket. Before it could show on his face, however, she asked him if he would like to do the honors. It took him a moment to realize what she meant but when he did he stood quickly and went to her, pulling her dark hair over her shoulder before taking the delicate chain between the calloused tips of his fingers. His hands shook slightly as he fastened the small latch and he couldn't help but to linger for a moment as he drew the smell of her in. She'd worn that perfume he liked, the dully sweet scent mingling with the vague smell of smoke.

Jackie touched the cool metal of the necklace before standing from her own seat and picking up the old locket, pressing it into Steve's hand as a way to tell him to put it in his pocket for the time being. Once he had her fingers hesitantly brushed against his, his warmth seeping through the material of her gloves as she intertwined their fingers experimentally. "Come on. We should go."


End file.
